- Saturday 01.25.2020 at 05:00 PM ET
- U.S. Broadcast: ESPN+
- Name: UFC on ESPN+ 24: Blaydes vs. Dos Santos
- Also Known As: UFC Fight Night Raleigh
- Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Ownership: WME-IMG
- Venue: PNC Arena
- Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
- Enclosure: Cage
- TV Announcers: Brendan Fitzgerald, Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier
- Ring Announcer: Bruce Buffer
- Post-Fight Interviews: Daniel Cormier
- MMA Bouts: 12
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 25, 2020) to stage its second event of the new year as UFC Fight Night 166 goes down from inside PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event will feature a Heavyweight showdown as Curtis Blaydes takes on former division kingpin, Junior dos Santos. In the co-headlining act, Welterweight studs Rafael dos Anjos and Michael Chiesa duke it out in a pivotal bout.
Fight card, odds
| FAVORITE | UNDERDOG | WEIGHTCLASS |
|---|---|---|
| Curtis Blaydes -260 | Junior dos Santos +210 | Heavyweights |
| Rafael dos Anjos -270 | Michael Chiesa +220 | Welterweights |
| Alex Perez -260 | Jordan Espinosa +210 | Flyweights |
| Angela Hill -175 | Hannah Cifers +145 | Women’s strawweights |
| Jamahal Hill -140 | Darko Stosic +110 | Light heavyweights |
Prediction
It may have been eight years since dos Santos last wore the UFC heavyweight title but he has done a tremendous job staying relevant. JDS has never lost consecutive fights and has only tasted defeat against true elite. So how good exactly is Blaydes at this point? It’s the unknown that makes this such an intriguing fight.
While dos Santos remains a highly skilled boxer with legitimate knockout power, Blaydes has steadily evolved into one of the division’s best dual threats as a wrestler with a proven history of being able to finish fights. Blaydes will not only have youth and mileage on his side, he won’t have the same physical questions to answer after the combination of a long layoff and a serious illness.
Blaydes has looked great in his two wins since his last defeat and is 7-0 (1 NC) overall inside the Octagon against anyone not named Ngannou, including victories over Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt. Even though Blaydes has never fought beyond the third round, there isn’t a ton of reason to fear he won’t be able to do so.
All four of dos Santos’ defeats since losing his title to Cain Velasquez have come via TKO. It’s time for the heavyweight division to take notice at just how good Blaydes can be.
Full Fight Card:
UFC Fight Night 166 Main Event
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior dos Santos
UFC Fight Night 166 Main Card
170 lbs.: Michael Chiesa vs. Rafael dos Anjos
125 lbs.: Jordan Espinosa vs. Alex Perez
115 lbs.: Hannah Cifers vs. Angela Hill
205 lbs.: Jamahal Hill vs. Darko Stosic
UFC Fight Night 166 Prelims Card
125 lbs.: Justine Kish vs. Lucie Pudilova
145 lbs.: Arnold Allen vs. Nik Lentz
185 lbs.: Bevon Lewis vs. Dequan Townsend
135 lbs.: Montel Jackson vs. Felipe Colares
135 lbs.: Lina Lansberg vs. Sara McMann
135 lbs.: Tony Gravely vs. Brett Johns
155 lbs.: Herbert Burns vs. Nate Landwehr
